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Archive for June, 2014

First timer? In this formerly once-a-day blog (and now more-or-less a twice a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

I really couldn’t find anything of interest about any of the towns near my landing (Leeton & Post Oaks are so small as to practically not exist). OK, OK. So I did learn how each of the three towns got their names. Here goes:

Windsor is named after Windsor Castle.

Calhoun is named after John C. Calhoun, Vice President from South Carolina under Andrew Jackson (1825 – 1832), and a staunch proponent of the Confederacy.

Clinton is named after DeWitt Clinton, governor of NY from 1825 – 1828, a staunch proponent of the Erie Canal.

So, I could feature Windsor Castle, John C. Calhoun, DeWitt Clinton, or, for that matter, the Erie Canal. But no. I’m going to feature the link that ties my titular towns together: the Katy Trail.

From Wiki:

The Katy Trail is a recreational rail trail that runs 240 miles in the right-of-way of the former Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad in Missouri. Running largely along the northern bank of the Missouri River, it is the country’s longest Rails-to-Trails trail. The trail is open for use by hikers, joggers, and cyclists year-round, from sunrise to sunset. Its hard, flat surface is of “limestone pug” (crushed limestone).

The nickname “Katy” comes from the phonetic pronunciation of ‘KT’ in the railroad’s abbreviated name, MKT. Sections of the Katy are also part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the American Discovery Trail.

About 2/3 of the trail is along the Missouri River; obviously, that’s not the case for the Trail near my landing. In fact, the trail starts in Clinton, and heads northeast through Calhoun and Windsor. Here’s Wiki’s Katy Trail map:

I used GE Street View to capture this shot of the trail just outside of Windsor:

Moving further afield, here’s a cool Katy Trail shot up along the Missouri:

And another, in Rocheport (near Boonville on the trail map):

I’ll tell you what – if I had the time, I’d love to ride the Katy Trail. Admittedly, I might limit the trip to just the part along the Missouri . . .

So, Clinton’s claim to fame is that it’s the trail head (or foot, depending on which way you’re going). Google map even shows what appears to be the beginning (or end) of the trail, at 4th street in Clinton:

However, a GE Street View shot looking up 4th Street doesn’t support this location as the beginning (end) of the trail:

The next road crossing the trail on the Google map is E Sedalia Ave. Here’s a shot looking SW back towards 4th Street:

It doesn’t look like a maintained trail. But here’s a shot also from E Sedalia Avenue, but this time looking NE:

That’s more like it. By ALAD proclamation, the trail starts (ends) on E Sedalia Avenue.

But actually, the “official” trail head is a third of a mile up from E Sedalia, at a park (where you can park your car and unload your bicycles). Here’s a GE StreetView shot (the trail is in the back by the woods):

As all of my readers know, I typically close with some GE Panoramio shots. It turns out that this part of Missouri is not only nearly hookless, it’s also Panoramio-challenged. The nearest Panoramio shot is a full 10 miles from my landing, and not ALAD-worthy. However, about 15 miles SW of my landing (near Clinton), I found this, by James Foushee:

First timer? In this formerly once-a-day blog (and now more-or-less a twice a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Zooming back a little, you can see today’s landing along with a January 2013 landing:

So, the result is a Summer Lake (revisited) post.

My GE shot shows (as you already know) that I landed in a lake:

Zooming back, once again you can see my old landing, about 5 miles away:

Because I couldn’t find much else to write about (although you will see some new material later), I’m going to lift a piece of my original Summer Lake January 2013 post:

From Wiki:

Summer Lake, for which the town is named, is one of the largest in Oregon at approximately 20 miles long and 10 miles wide. It was named by Captain John C. Frémont during his 1843 mapping expedition through Central Oregon.

On December 16, 1843, the expedition struggled down a steep cliff from a snow-covered plateau to reach a lake in the valley below. Frémont named them “Winter Ridge” and “Summer Lake.” From the rocky cliff overlooking the lake basin, Frémont described the discovery and naming of Summer Lake as follows:

“At our feet…more than a thousand feet below…we looked into a green prairie country, in which a beautiful lake, some twenty miles in length, was spread along the foot of the mountain…Shivering on snow three feet deep, and stiffening in a cold north wind, we exclaimed at once that the names of Summer Lake and Winter Ridge should be applied to these proximate places of such sudden and violent contrast.”

The first settlers began to arrive in the Summer Lake Valley around 1870. However, the high desert was difficult to farm, and many early settlers stayed only a few years before moving on to greener country. As a result, the population of the valley never grew beyond a few hundred people.

John Fremont was an explorer, soldier and politician. He was the first Republican candidate for president (in 1856). This was back when the Republicans were the liberals and the Democrats were the conservatives (as we all now know after watching “Lincoln.”)

Here’s a picture of Fremont on a cigar box (with the picture’s caption below):

In the old days, this was like getting your picture on the Wheaties box.

This, from Wiki, about the election:

Frémont was one of the first two senators from California, serving from 1850 to 1851. He was the first presidential candidate of the new Republican Party in 1856. It used the slogan “Free Soil, Free Men, and Frémont” to crusade for free farms (homesteads) and against slavery. As was typical in presidential campaigns, the candidates stayed at home and said little.

The Democrats campaigned fiercely, warning that a victory by Frémont would bring civil war [oh, come on – not a chance!]. They also raised a host of issues, including the false allegation that Frémont was a Catholic. Frémont’s powerful father-in-law, Senator Benton, praised Frémont but announced his support for the Democratic candidate James Buchanan.

Here’s the electoral map.

Poor John. In spite of a great slogan – “Free soil; Free Men, and Fremont,” he got nailed by worries about a civil war, people thinking he was (oh no!) Catholic, and his own father-in-law supporting Buchanon.

I’m back. It’s June, 2014.

I noticed that just 5 mi north of my landing is Hager Mountain. Here’s an oblique GE shot of the mountain looking past the lake and my landing:

Here’s a GE Panoramio shot of the mountain from the lake by Bend Overall Guidebook (no comment on the handle):

I stumbled on a webpage by one David Inscho about a 9-day winter stay on the top of the mountain in the lookout cabin. Here’s one of his photos of the lookout cabin:

More about Mr. Inscho’s adventure later. Anyway, it turns out that the lookout (which is run by the U.S. Forest Service) is made available for renting during winter months. Here’s a Forest Service write-up:

Hager Mountain Lookout is perched on top of the mountain, offering 360 degree views as far as Mount Hood and Mount Shasta on a clear day. It is one of a diminishing number of lookouts still staffed for fire detection annually from June through October.

This rugged, winter destination awaits the most enthusiastic outdoor adventurers. After cross country skiing or snowshoeing to the cabin, visitors will gladly fire up the wood stove (fire wood is provided) and set up camp in the 14 x 14 square foot one room lookout. It is equipped with a propane cook stove, one bed and three sleeping cots, as well as a few pots for cooking and melting snow. There is a picnic table outside of the cabin, and an outhouse near by. There is no drinking water on site; visitors must bring plenty for drinking, cooking and washing.

Availability: Hager Mountain Lookout is available for rent November 15 through May 15, after the threat of forest fires in the area has passed. Although the lookout is not available for rent during the fire season, the public is welcome to visit the site and talk with the lookout personnel.

Price and Capacity: $40 per night per group, with a maximum of four occupants. Fees are used directly for the maintenance and preservation of the lookout.

Very cool. Now, getting back to David Inscho. You must, simply must, check out his website. He has a great video of his experience, which you must see. And then, click on the link under the video to check out his narrative and a number of great photos. Click HERE. You simply must.

As per usual, I’ll close with some Panoramio shots. First this of Adler Spring Ridge (by Jerome Keim), about three miles NW of my landing:

First timer? In this formerly once-a-day blog (and now more-or-less a twice a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

My streams-only map shows that I landed in the watershed of the Chipola River (1st hit); on to the Apalachicola (9th hit).

My Google Earth (GE) shot shows a farm field landing:

And yes! There is Street View coverage for the small country road just east of my landing. Here’s a look southwest towards my landing from that road:

Zooming back, you can see an agricultural / wooded landscape:

Note the wooded area to the west. That surrounds the Chipola R. Just to the southwest of my landing (in the woods) is the Florida Caverns State Park. More about that later.

So I landed near Marianna. It’s a substantial town (pop near 10,000). It has some history (like a Civil War battle), but not much else of the “hook” variety. Here’s some info about the Civil War battle, from the Explore Southern History website:

On September 27, 1864, Union troops (led by Gen. Asboth) struck the small Northwest Florida city of Marianna. The result was a bloody event remembered today as the Battle of Marianna.

The Battle of Marianna was deadly and fierce and has been labeled by some as “Florida’s Alamo.” An outnumbered force of Southern militia, reserves, volunteers, wounded soldiers home on leave and a few regulars tried to defend against the Union attack. One veteran participant described it as the “most severe fight of the war” for its size.

The battle developed when Southern Union sympathizers brought word to General Asboth that Federal prisoners were being held at Marianna. Leaving Pensacola on September 18, 1864, he led 700 mounted men and reached Marianna on the morning of September 27, 1864, when intense street fighting began.

Asboth was severely wounded as were “nearly every officer and man” at the head of his column. His principal regiment, the 2nd Maine Cavalry, suffered its greatest losses of the war that day. Unfortunately for Marianna’s defenders, it was not enough.

The main body of the Union force, however turned on the Marianna Home Guard with a fury. The Confederates were virtually all either killed, wounded or captured.

The Battle of Marianna ended with a brutal fight in the cemetery behind the church. The battling forces fired at each other from just yards away. Even after the main body of the Home Guard surrendered, Union troops fired a volley into their ranks. Seeing this, Confederates firing from the windows of the church and two nearby homes refused to surrender and continued to fight.

The church and both homes were burned to the ground. Four men and boys died in the flames.

As the smoke from the burning buildings diminished and the sounds of gunshots ended, the women of Marianna flooded into the streets to care for the wounded. Bodies littered the main street of the town.

The city itself was subjected to an evening of intense raiding. Soldiers and liberated slaves broke into homes, carried off items of value, destroyed stocks of food and rounded up livestock.

Some minor skirmishing continued along the banks of the Chipola River as Confederate soldiers on the east bank exchanged fire with Union soldiers on the west bank. During the night, however, the Federal skirmishers disappeared and the intermittent fighting ended. Southern reinforcements continued to arrive through the night and by morning several hundred Confederate soldiers were gathered on the east bank of the Chipola.

They reentered town shortly after sunrise, but found that the Union troops had been gone for hours.

By the time the battle was over, both sides had been severely bloodied. More than 25% of the male population of Marianna had been either killed, wounded or captured.

And the point of this battle was supposedly freeing Federal prisoners. None of the accounts of the battle even mentioned if that objective was met (I suspect not).

Of course, this was a minor battle that we’ve never heard of . . .

Moving right along to more pleasant turf – the Florida Caverns State Park. According to the Park website, this is the only Florida cave that is significantly dry and therefore open to the public. All of Florida is underlain by limestone which slowly dissolves, resulting in caves and sinkholes (i.e., karst topography); but all other caves have high water that prevents easy access.

Before showing some pretty pictures, there was a particular feature of interest in the Park: the natural bridge over the Chipola River. When we hear “natural bridge”, we likely imagine something that might look like this:

The above photo is a Wiki shot of Ayres Natural Bridge in Wyoming. Really cool spot!

But hey, that’s Wyoming, and this is Florida. In case you’ve forgotten, Florida is flat. So, instead of the bridge raised above the river like the photo, in Florida, the “bridge” is at the same elevation as the surrounding land. The river dips down below the ground (in an underground channel). So when you come upon it, there really isn’t much to see.

Here’s a picture (once again, from the Explore Southern History website) of where the river appears to end. Of course, it’s really just briefly disappearing into the subsurface:

Here’s a little write-up from the same website:

In 1818, Andrew Jackson’s army crossed the Natural Bridge of the Chipola during the First Seminole War. Captain Hugh Young, a topographer assigned to the army, wrote:

The Natural Bridge is in the center of a large swamp and appears to be a deposit of earth on a raft or some similar obstruction. The passage is narrow and the creek, with a rapid current is visible both above and below.

Captain Young was wrong, of course, about the nature of the bridge. It actually is formed by the unique karst topography of the area. The river flows down into a sink, travels under the ground for a short distance and then rises back to the surface.

OK, time for some GE Panoramio pictures. I’ll start with some cave shots, with a couple by LJG Speer:

First timer? In this formerly once-a-day blog (and now more-or-less a twice a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

So, of course, I was per-googling the myriad of small towns in the vicinity of my landing. The Frenchton Wiki entry is typical of what I found:

Frenchton is an unincorporated community in Upshur County, West Virginia, United States. Frenchton is 10.5 miles (16.9 km) southwest of Buckhannon. Frenchton has a post office with ZIP code 26219.

I had little luck until I tried Ireland. Here’s what Wiki had to say:

Ireland is an unincorporated community in Lewis County, West Virginia, United States. The community was named for Andrew Wilson, its first settler, who was from Ireland.

Ireland is also the American home of the sport of Irish Road Bowling.

Irish Road Bowling! No clue what that is, but maybe I’m getting somewhere. I then found the “West Virginia Irish Road Bowling” website (www.wvirishroadbowling.com). It features the Irish Spring Festival held each year in Ireland (Ireland WV, that is). From the website, here’s an interesting factoid about Andrew Wilson, the person named in Wiki as the founder of the town:

The town of Ireland was settled in the early 1800s by Andrew Wilson, who was nicknamed “Old Ireland,” because he recently had immigrated from the country of Ireland to America, and because, when he died in November 1843, he was 114 years old.

Wow. 114 years old! More about Irish Road Bowling in a little while, but first some more on the Irish Spring Festival held each spring in Ireland (Ireland WV, that is). The highlight of the Festival is a trip up to Blarney Rock. Here’s what the festival website has to say:

Approximately 2300 feet above sea level and with a rise of approximately 300 feet above the Ireland roadway, there is a large stone that appears to be defying the laws of gravity. That’s the Blarney Rock, at a very short hiking distance away.

The magic of the Blarney Rock (any name resemblance to the original Blarney Stone is purely coincidentally designed) lies with its effect on human aging. It is said that if one visits the Blarney Rock annually during the equinox – preferably on the first day of spring – he or she will live to be 114 years old!!

This legend can be proven to be an absolute certainty if the hike is made for 114 consecutive springtimes. The additional gesture of leaving a penny for the leprechauns increases ones chances for a long lifetime. Besides, it gives our children something of worth to do when the clean-up committee has begun its efforts after the Irish Spring Festival is over.

So, if you want to be as old as Andrew Wilson, take this advice: Hike to the Blarney Rock, climb upon the top, proclaim your gratitude for the coming of spring , and for some extra luck; leave a penny for the leprechauns. If you can do this for 114 springtimes – it is almost for certain that you too will reach the ripe old age of 114 years young.

The real hard core Irish Springers mark the equinox to the minute, even if it’s in the middle of the night . . .

Anyway, moving along to Irish Road Bowing. It’s a game that originated in Ireland (surprise, surprise), and involves throwing a steel ball down a country road, following a specified course (generally between 1 & 2 miles long). Simply, the number of throws is tallied and the lowest number of throws wins the match. It can be scored individually, or can be team-based.

From the West Virginia Road Bowling site:

An iron and steel small cannonball, called a “bowl” is hurled down a 1.2 mile country lane, fewest throws to the finish line wins, similar to golf. Throws can roll 250 or even 300 yards.

Excitement builds as two evenly skilled players match each other shot for shot for more than a mile. Often these memorable matches, called “scores,” are decided by only a few feet or inches distance past the finish line, both players with the same number of throws.

The twists and turns of a narrow country lane as well as the tilt of the road surface (the “pitch and camber”) provide a rich playing field for strategy and can spark spirited debate among the thrower, his coach (the “road shower”) and full-throated spectators.

Before football, soccer, and basketball, before baseball and golf, was . . .

The Old Game, Irish Road Bowling.

From Wiki, here are some specifics on rules and techniques:

The thrower runs to the throwing mark and, in the Northern or County Armagh style, extends the arm and bowl behind him as he runs. At the throwing mark the arm is snapped forward by arching the back and shoulders, releasing the bowl underhand before stepping over the mark.

Wherever the bowl stops (not where it leaves the road surface), a chalk mark is made at the nearest point on the road and the next throw is taken from behind that mark.

The bowl is about 4.5” in diameter and weighs about 1.75 lbs.

Here’s a little piece on the sport (in Ireland) from ESPN. Stay with it to the end to see some serious throws:

Here’s an Associated Press piece on the game in WV:

Here’s a little more laid-back match, in Ireland WV:

I’ll close with a couple of GE Panoramio shots. First this, by Landon Owen, of a morning fog rising from the Stonewall Jackson Lake:

And this, of the nearby Walkersville covered bridge, by Jack R. Perry:

First timer? In this formerly once-a-day blog (and now more-or-less a twice a week blog), I have my computer select a random latitude and longitude that puts me somewhere in the continental United States (the lower 48). I call this “landing.” I keep track of the watersheds I land in, as well as the town I land near. I do some internet research to hopefully find something of interest about my landing location. To find out more about A Landing A Day (like who “Dan” is and what the various numbers and abbreviations mean in the first paragraph), please see “About Landing,” (and “Abbreviations” and “Cryptic Numbers”) above.

Landing number 2101; A Landing A Day blog post number 529.

Dan – I just changed “blog post number 528” to “blog post number 529.” Typically, no big deal, except that today is May 29th (5/29) which happens to be my birthday! So cool! By the way, I’m on vacation in Eleuthera and won’t be posting this until my return.

Obviously, I have a simple watershed analysis. The Green River (8th hit) flows on to the Ohio (129th hit); on to the MM (827th hit).

My GE shot shows a vague rural landscape along a major highway (the Western Kentucky Parkway).

Of course, there’s Street View coverage from the Parkway. Can’t see much, but trust me, my landing’s just 200 yards away from the road:

Speaking of Street View, here’s a shot from the Parkway of the Green River looking north towards Rockport:

I checked out Rockport (pop 333), and could find nothing of interest. Moving over to Central City (pop 6,000), the one item that caught my eye is that the elder Everly Brother (Don) was born here. That’s THE Everly Brothers of late 50s and early 60s musical fame. The family moved from Central City to Chicago soon thereafter, where younger brother Phil was born two years later. More about the Everls later.

But first, I stumbled upon something cool in the teeny town of Rochester, about 10 mi S of my landing (not even shown on my landing map above). Rochester’s right on the Green River. Here’s a Street Atlas map, which certainly looks like there’s a bridge over the river, right?

But wait! Here’s a GE shot of Rochester. Hmmm. No bridge.

The answer? There’s a ferry. A free, publicly-operated ferry. Here’s a cool video of the ferry, from Jobe Publishing News:

As promised, I’m getting back to the Everly Brothers. I’ll start with a Wiki photo of the brothers, with Don on the right:

I’ll dive right in to You Tube, with their 1957 hit “Wake Up, Little Suzy” (posted by nerisob). This is a great song. Listen to the words. Listen to the guitars, and think about how ground breaking this was in 1957:

And while we’re at it, here’s “Cathy’s Clown,” (1961) also a classic:

Are these guys dudes, or what? Anyway, I was born in 1950 (making me bordering on ancient); I remember the Everly Brothers well (although I probably remember Wake Up Little Suzy as a “Golden Oldie”).

While I enjoyed their hits, like “Bye, Bye Love” (with the famous cover by Simon & Garfunkle); “Cathy’s Clown,” “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” and “Wake Up, Little Suzy,” I didn’t follow their career, and don’t know any of their songs beyond the four just mentioned and maybe a few more of their Top-40 hits.

I’ll move along to some tidbits from Wiki. First this, about the Brothers & Buddy Holly:

The brothers toured extensively with Buddy Holly during 1957 and 1958. According to Holly biographer Philip Norman, they were responsible for the change in style for Holly and the Crickets from Levi’s and T-shirts to the Everlys’ sharp Ivy League suits.

Phil Everly was one of Holly’s pallbearers at his funeral in February 1959. Don did not attend, later saying “I couldn’t go to the funeral. I couldn’t go anywhere. I just took to my bed.”

A Landing A Day has featured Buddy Holly a couple of times, most notably in my Lubbock TX post (Buddy’s home town). I also landed near Clear Lake IA (just before I began blogging). Clear Lake is where the plane carrying Buddy Holly went down on that fateful “Day the Music Died.”

The Everly Brothers were hugely successful through 1962, but their star began to dim rapidly as the British Invasion took hold. Both brothers went through drug problems, but struggled on with their brotherly career, although tensions between the two became apparent.

Back to Wiki:

In 1973, they decided to take time off from performing, announcing their final performance together would be on July 14, 1973, at Knott’s Berry Farm in California. Unfortunately, high tensions between the two began to surface during the show until Phil smashed his guitar and stormed off the stage. Reportedly, they did not speak to each other for almost a decade, except at their father’s funeral in 1975.

They reunited in 1983, and made music together and with others off and on through the early 2000s. Phil died of chronic lung problems a few months ago (in January), brought on by a lifetime of smoking.

Here’s some more from Wiki, in the “Legacy” section:

The music of the Everly Brothers is acknowledged to have influenced many successful musicians, including the Beatles, who famously once referred to themselves as “the English Everly Brothers”. They based the vocal arrangement of “Please Please Me” upon “Cathy’s Clown”.

Keith Richards called Don Everly “one of the finest rhythm guitar players ever”. Singer-songwriter Paul Simon said in an email the day after Phil’s death: “Phil and Don were the most beautiful sounding duo I ever heard. Both voices pristine and soulful. They witnessed and were part of the birth of rock and roll.”

In 1986, the Everly Brothers were among the first 10 artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Here’s a great You Tube clip of much older Everlys with Simon & Garfunkle in 2003 (posted by MyyyTunes2). Those old boys can still sing. Wake Up Little Suzy hasn’t lost anything. And of course, it closes with all four singing Bye Bye Love:

There’s more I could say, but I’m Everlyed out.

I couldn’t find much in the way of local GE Panoramio shots, but I did find this “On The Road” shot by Marina 1984, showing the Western Kentucky Parkway just west of my landing: